Billy Hitchcock

American baseball player, manager, and executive (1916-2006)

For the Final Destination character, see List of Final Destination characters § Billy Hitchcock.

Baseball player

Billy Hitchcock

Hitchcock as a Detroit Tigers coach in 1957

Infielder / Manager
Born: (1916-07-31)July 31, 1916
Inverness, Alabama, U.S.
Died: April 9, 2006(2006-04-09) (aged 89)
Opelika, Alabama, U.S.

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

MLB debut
April 14, 1942, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
August 27, 1953, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
Batting average| .243
Home runs| 5
Runs batted in| 257
Managerial record| 274–261
Winning %| .512
Stats at Baseball Reference
Managerial record at Baseball Reference
Teams
As player

* Detroit Tigers (1942, 1946)
* Washington Senators (1946)
* St. Louis Browns (1947)
* Boston Red Sox (1948–1949)
* Philadelphia Athletics (1950–1952)
* Detroit Tigers (1953)

As manager

* Detroit Tigers (1960)
* Baltimore Orioles (1962–1963)
* Atlanta Braves (1966–1967)

As coach

* Detroit Tigers (1955–1960)
* Atlanta Braves (1966)

Hitchcock served as president of the Southern League from 1971 to 1980.

William Clyde Hitchcock (July 31, 1916 – April 9, 2006) was an American professional baseball infielder, coach, manager and scout. In Major League Baseball (MLB), he was primarily a third baseman, second baseman and shortstop who appeared in 703 games over nine years with five American League teams. After 18 years as a coach, manager (of the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves), and scout he became an executive in Minor League Baseball, serving as president of the Double-A Southern League from 1971 to 1980. His older brother, Jimmy Hitchcock, played briefly for the 1938 Boston Bees.

## Playing career

[edit]

Born in Inverness, Alabama and a graduate of Auburn University, Hitchcock played all four infield positions during a nine-year American League active career. The right-handed batter and thrower stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg). He broke in with the 1942 Detroit Tigers, spent three years in the Army Air Force in the Pacific during World War II, and resumed his Major League career from 1946 to 1953. Overall, he batted .243 with 547 hits and five home runs in 703 games with the Tigers, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns and Philadelphia Athletics.

## Managerial career

[edit]

Between Triple-A managing assignments in 1954 and 1961, Hitchcock served a six-year (1955–60) term as the Tigers' third base coach. He also became a footnote to one of the most bizarre personnel transactions in baseball annals. On August 3, 1960, the Tigers and Cleveland Indians traded their managers, Jimmy Dykes for Joe Gordon. Hitchcock served as Detroit's interim skipper for one game while Gordon was en route from his Cleveland assignment, and the Tigers defeated the New York Yankees, 12–2, on August 3 at Yankee Stadium.[1]

In 1962, Hitchcock was named the full-time manager of the Baltimore Orioles. But in his two seasons at the helm, the ballclub barely broke the .500 mark (163–161). Hitchcock was dismissed on September 29 after the final game of the 1963 campaign in which the fourth-place Orioles finished 18+1⁄2 games behind the Yankees,[2] and moved into Baltimore's minor league department as field coordinator. Then he became a scout for the Braves, whose general manager at the time was former Tiger player and executive John McHale.

Hitchcock began the 1966 season as a coach under Bobby Bragan during the Braves' first season in Atlanta. But when they won only 52 of their first 111 games, Bragan was fired on August 9 and Hitchcock took over. The Braves won 33 of their last 51 games to finish fifth in the National League, and Hitchcock was invited back for 1967, but he was fired September 28 of that year with the team in seventh place and three games remaining on the schedule.[3] His career managing record was 274 wins, 261 losses (.514). Hitchcock then scouted for McHale and the Montreal Expos in 1968–71 before taking over as president of the Southern League.

### Managerial record

[edit]

Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason

|
|
|

Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result
DET | 1960 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | interim | – | – | – | –
DET total | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |  | 0 | 0 | – |
BAL | 1962 | 162 | 77 | 85 | .475 | 7th in AL | – | – | – | –
BAL | 1963 | 162 | 86 | 76 | .531 | 4th in AL | – | – | – | –
BAL total | 324 | 163 | 161 | .503 |  | 0 | 0 | – |
ATL | 1966 | 51 | 33 | 18 | .647 | 5th in NL | – | – | – | –
ATL | 1967 | 159 | 77 | 82 | .484 | fired | – | – | – | –
ATL total | 210 | 110 | 100 | .524 |  | 0 | 0 | – |
Total | 535 | 274 | 261 | – |  | 0 | 0 | – |

## Southern League presidency

[edit]

Hitchcock became president of the Southern League in August 1971.[4] During his presidency, the league added new teams, expanded its playoffs, and introduced split-season play. Other improvements included stadium refurbishments and efforts to make the league more family-friendly. Attendance figures rose dramatically during his tenure, from 333,500 in 1971 to over 1.7 million in 1980. The Southern League championship trophy is named after Hitchcock, and in 1980 he was presented with the King of Baseball award given by Minor League Baseball. He stepped down from the presidency in 1980.[4]

## College athletics

[edit]

In addition to his baseball resume, Hitchcock also made a name for himself in college football and golf. As an All-SEC tailback, he led the Auburn Tigers football program to its first bowl game, a 7–7 tie against Villanova in the Bacardi Bowl, played in Havana on January 1, 1937. Later in life, he established the Billy Hitchcock Golf Tournament at his alma mater. In recognition of his contribution to the school, Auburn renamed its renovated baseball stadium "Hitchcock Field" in 2003. Also in that year, Baseball America named it the best college baseball facility in the country.

## Death

[edit]

Hitchcock died in Opelika, Alabama at age 89.[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Information at Retrosheet
2. ^ "Orioles Fire Bill Hitchcock as Manager" Associated Press, Sunday, September 29, 1963
3. ^ Braves fire Bill Hitchcock as manager
4. ^ a b "Southern League History". Southern League. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
5. ^ Hitchcock, former player, manager, dies at 89

## External links

[edit]

* Biography portal

*   * Career statistics from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
*   * Billy Hitchcock managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
* Billy Hitchcock at the SABR Baseball Biography Project
* Billy Hitchcock at Find a Grave

Preceded by

Jack Tighe

|  Buffalo Bisons manager
1954  | Succeeded by

Dan Carnevale

|
|

Preceded by

Johnny Hopp

|  Detroit Tigers third base coach
1955–1960  | Succeeded by

Phil Cavarretta

Preceded by

George Staller

|  Vancouver Mounties manager
1961  | Succeeded by

Jack McKeon

Preceded by

Sam C. Smith Jr.

|  Southern League president
1971–1980  | Succeeded by

Jim Bragan

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Atlanta Braves managers

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* v
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Southern League presidents

* Sam C. Smith (1964–1971)
* Billy Hitchcock (1971–1980)
* Jim Bragan (1981–1994)
* Arnie Fielkow (1994–2000)
* Don Mincher (2000–2012)
* Lori Webb (2012–2020)

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King of Baseball

* 1951: Pants Rowland
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* 2013: Charlie Eshbach
* 2014: Bill Valentine
* 2015: Bill Gladstone
* 2016: David G. Elmore
* 2017: Lee Landers
* 2018: Mike Tamburro
* 2019: Bob Lozinak

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